West Fork Wallowa, Ice & Frazier Lakes 8/20/12 - 8/24/12

[retired jerry]

You said you packed out your TP

There is a nice thread about that on backpackinglight.com

Some people swear by packing out their TP

Other people just bury it. If you also urinate on it, it speeds decomposition. Or also stir it.

I think it will stay buried if there's several inches of soil on top.

I've seen TP that wasn't totally buried so you could still see it - that's not good.

I've seen people that leave some TP on top, maybe covered with a rock, so other people know to avoid - maybe that's an old practice? - I think it's pretty obnoxious - I saw that in the Wallowas several places

I think it decomposes within a season if it's not totally alpine. You want plants and roots around.

And then some people don't worry, just leave a mess on the ground and don't care about future people. That is really obnoxious. I've seen that occasionally.

[Hoosier Hiker]

...The wine was a luxury and has to go. I'm looking to get my base weight without food down to close to 20 lbs. Any suggestions anybody has, I'm listening.

read this thread. http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... 15&t=10531
when you get your baseweight down to ~10lbs you can carry the wine....

excellent trip report. The Wallowas is a memorable place, I didn't get to go this year so I enjoyed yours. And double Kudos to you for cleaning up others mess and TP. I bet in the lakes basin there isn't a rock without TP under it or stashed nearby. I know its biodegradable, but I can't help to be curious how long it takes TP to decompose...

Thanks, Koda. I'll study that thread. I'm already doing some of the stuff--using a Tyvek footprint, Z-lite sleeping pad, Jetboil for cooking (not the titanium, too spendy.) On this trip I was carrying a LL Bean Microlite 2-man tent, which is 6.5 lbs. I plan on getting an UL one-man tent to cut that in half at least, I hope. I'll report in on the other thread where I end up, weight-wise.

[texasbb]

Very nice, hoosier! I was up there the same time as you, on Polaris Pass the day you were on the Matterhorn. Didn't see you over there; in fact, I could barely verify that Matterhorn was even there through the awful haze. As you noted, the next day was beautifully clear, and we got some incredible views from Eagle Cap.

BTW, I agree with you about Glacier Lake. I've been there three times, and it's still at the top of my favorite lakes list.

[Hoosier Hiker]

The black plastic cap for the iso-butane can, that I thought I lost at the campsite, was found in a jacket pocket on 10/16/12. Score 1 for LNT.